Grandview Wolves' guard Jaiden Galloway, #3, hoists the 5A state championship trophy above her head as she and her teammates celebrate winning the 5A girls state championship basketball title at the Denver Coliseum on March 10, 2018 in Denver. The Wolves beat the Raiders 67-61.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

Regis Jesuit forward Francesca Belibi, #1, tries to block Grandview Wolves guard Jaiden Galloway, #3, during the 1st half of the 5A girls state championship basketball game at the Denver Coliseum on March 10, 2018 in Denver. The Grandview Wolves beat the Regis Jesuit Raiders 67-61.

Grandview Wolves guard Allyah Marlett yells at her teammates from the bench during the 1st half of the 5A girls state championship basketball game at the Denver Coliseum on March 10, 2018 in Denver. The Grandview Wolves beat the Regis Jesuit Raiders 67-61.

Regis Jesuit forward Francesca Belibi, #1, falls to the ground during the 2nd half of the 5A girls state championship basketball game at the Denver Coliseum on March 10, 2018 in Denver. The Grandview Wolves beat the Regis Jesuit Raiders 67-61.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

Grandview Wolves forward Leliah Vigil, #34, drives the ball up the court against Regis Jesuit Raiders' guard Jada Moore, #23, right during the 2nd half of the 5A girls state championship basketball game at the Denver Coliseum on March 10, 2018 in Denver. The Wolves beat the Regis Jesuit Raiders 67-61. Vigil had 13 points but was fouled out in the fourth period.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

Grandview Wolves players cheer on their team during the 2nd half of the 5A girls state championship basketball game at the Denver Coliseum on March 10, 2018 in Denver. The Wolves beat the Regis Jesuit Raiders 67-61.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

Grandview Wolves guard Allyah Marlett, #22, right, eyes the basket for 1 of 2 free throws during the 2nd half of the 5A girls state championship basketball game at the Denver Coliseum on March 10, 2018 in Denver. Marlett had 11 points in the game. The Wolves beat the Regis Jesuit Raiders 67-61.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

Grandview Wolves forward Alisha Davis, #5, goes up for a layup against Regis Jesuit Raiders' center Noelle Cahill, #40, left, and forward Sidney Weigand,#4, right, during the 2nd half of the 5A girls state championship basketball game at the Denver Coliseum on March 10, 2018 in Denver. The Wolves beat the Regis Jesuit Raiders 67-61. Davis scored 13 points in the game.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

Grandview Wolves forward Alisha Davis, #5, drives past guard Jasmine Gaines, #5, left and forward Sidney Weigand,#4, right, during the 2nd half of the 5A girls state championship basketball game at the Denver Coliseum on March 10, 2018 in Denver. Davis scored 13 points in the game. The Wolves beat the Regis Jesuit Raiders 67-61.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

Regis Jesuit guard Jada Moore, #23, complains to the referee about a call against her during the 2nd half of the 5A girls state championship basketball game at the Denver Coliseum on March 10, 2018 in Denver. The Grandview Wolves beat the Regis Jesuit Raiders 67-61.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

Grandview Wolves players and Regis Jesuit players fight for a rebounded ball during the 2nd half of the 5A girls state championship basketball game at the Denver Coliseum on March 10, 2018 in Denver. The Wolves beat the Regis Jesuit Raiders 67-61.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

Regis Jesuit forward Francesca Belibi, #1, calls out to one of her players during the 2nd half of the 5A girls state championship basketball game at the Denver Coliseum on March 10, 2018 in Denver. The Grandview Wolves beat the Regis Jesuit Raiders 67-61.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

Grandview Wolves' forward Leliah Vigil, #34, screams at her teammates cries during the 5A girls state championship basketball title at the Denver Coliseum on March 10, 2018 in Denver. The Wolves beat the Regis Jesuit Raiders 67-61.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

Grandview Wolves forward Alisha Davis, #5, reaches for the ball to keep it in bounds during the 2nd half of the 5A girls state championship basketball game at the Denver Coliseum on March 10, 2018 in Denver. The Grandview Wolves beat the Regis Jesuit Raiders 67-61.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

Regis Jesuit guard Jada Moore, #23, reaches for the ball to keep it in bounds during the 2nd half of the 5A girls state championship basketball game at the Denver Coliseum on March 10, 2018 in Denver. The Grandview Wolves beat the Regis Jesuit Raiders 67-61.

Andy Cross, The Denver Post

Jasmine Gaines, #5, gathers up a rebound from Addison O'Grady, #44, Grandview in the first half of the Colorado state girls 5A basketball championship game at the Denver Coliseum March 10, 2018.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

Regis Jesuit head coach Carl Mattei yells to his players during the 2nd half of the 5A girls state championship basketball game at the Denver Coliseum on March 10, 2018 in Denver. The Grandview Wolves beat the Regis Jesuit Raiders 67-61.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

Grandview Wolves' forward Leliah Vigil, #34, gets hugged by a coach as they realize they will win the 5A girls state championship basketball title at the Denver Coliseum on March 10, 2018 in Denver. The Wolves beat the Raiders 67-61.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

Grandview Wolves' forward Leliah Vigil, #34, hugs guard Jaiden Galloway, right, as they and their teammates celebrate winning the 5A girls state championship basketball title at the Denver Coliseum on March 10, 2018 in Denver. The Wolves beat the Regis Jesuit Raiders 67-61.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

Grandview Wolves' forward Leliah Vigil, #34, screams with joy as she runs on the court with forward Addison O'Grady, #44, left, forward Heaven Smith, #11, middle, and guard Sariah Serrano, #40, to celebrate winning the 5A girls state championship basketball title at the Denver Coliseum on March 10, 2018 in Denver. The Wolves beat the Regis Jesuit Raiders 67-61.

Andy Cross, The Denver Post

Jaiden Galloway, #3, looks up at her shot that dropped at the buzzer at the half against Regis during the Colorado state girls 5A basketball championship game at the Denver Coliseum March 10, 2018.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

Grandview Wolves' forward Alisha Davis gets a hug from her father Andre after she and her team beat the Regis Jesuit Raiders to win the 5A girls state championship basketball title at the Denver Coliseum on March 10, 2018 in Denver. The Wolves beat the Raiders 67-61. Davis scored 13 points in the game.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

Grandview Wolves' forward Leliah Vigil cries on the court after she and her team beat the Regis Jesuit Raiders to win the 5A girls state championship basketball title at the Denver Coliseum on March 10, 2018 in Denver. The Wolves beat the Raiders 67-61. Vigil had 13 points but was fouled out in the fourth period.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

The Grandview Wolves' team hoist the 5A girls state championship trophy above her head as she and her teammates celebrate winning the 5A girls state championship basketball title at the Denver Coliseum on March 10, 2018 in Denver. The Wolves beat the Raiders 67-61.

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

Grandview Wolves' forward Leliah Vigil, #34, hoists the 5A state championship trophy above her head as she and her teammates celebrate winning the 5A girls state championship basketball title at the Denver Coliseum on March 10, 2018 in Denver. The Wolves beat the Raiders 67-61. Vigil had 13 points but was fouled out in the fourth period.

Andy Cross, The Denver Post

Allyah Marlett, #22, Grandview Wolves, celebrates with the student section after defeating the Regis Raiders for the Colorado state girls 5A basketball championship title at the Denver Coliseum March 10, 2018. Grandview won 67-61.

To heck with the RPI — poll the coaches, ask the casual fans, go by the old-fashioned eye test. All season, No. 5-seeded Grandview and No. 6-seeded Regis Jesuit have been the clear-cut best teams in Class 5A girls basketball.

The programs came out and played to that standard Saturday night at the Denver Coliseum, with Grandview outlasting Regis Jesuit 67-61 in a back-and-forth battle culminating with a Wolves championship repeat.

Free throws and turnovers were the difference down the stretch, as Grandview won the final frame 19-8 to complete a comeback from being down 16-3 after an early Regis Jesuit assault.

“We’re fighters, and we’ve been fighting all season,” said Grandview senior point guard Jaiden Galloway, a Metro State commit. “We’re never going to stop — and that’s what tonight’s win took. It took fight and heart.”

The title showdown between the two teams that had occupied the top spots in The Denver Post power rankings all season was not destined to be a blowout — as it was in the Wolves’ 33-point Final Four victory over the Raiders last season — as Grandview roared back from Regis Jesuit’s opening push with their own 12-2 run.

The Raiders took a five-point lead into the second quarter, but Grandview continued to battle, eventually taking its first lead of the game, 38-37, on Galloway’s running layup at the halftime buzzer.

“That was big for us,” Galloway said. “After being down so much, we had momentum going into the locker room.”

In the third, though, Regis Jesuit retook the lead, and junior small forward Sidney Weigand’s late 3-pointer with less than 30 seconds to play in the frame gave the Raiders a 53-48 advantage going to the fourth.

But in the pressurized final quarter, both teams were without star power. First, Grandview senior forward Leilah Vigil fouled out at the five minute mark, and then Regis Jesuit freshman sharpshooter Avery VanSickle drew her fifth foul a couple minutes later.

“Leilah going out actually helped us with our energy,” Galloway said. “She was still willing us on from the bench, and the girls still in looked at each other and were like, ‘We’re going to do this for our teammates.’ ”

Regis Jesuit junior forward Fran Belibi proceeded to foul out with 1:47 to play and the Raiders up 61-59, sending Wolves freshman Addison O’Grady to the line. She made one of two, and then junior foward Alisha Davis stole the ball on the following Raiders possession.

After the steal, Davis dribbled the length of court to draw a foul and hit two free throws, giving Grandview a 62-61 lead it did not relinquish.

“The key was getting them in foul trouble, because we knew a couple of their players had several and we just kept going at them offensively,” Galloway said. “And on the other end, we got stops on defense.”

The championship ending was made even sweeter for Grandview considering many wondered if the Wolves could defend their title following the graduation of Michaela Onyenwere, last season’s Ms. Basketball.

“The target on our back lifted us up. Michaela left and everyone thought we were going to be a whole different, weaker team,” Galloway said. “We are a different team, but we’re just as good, and it showed this year.”

Kyle Newman is the Digital Prep Sports Editor for The Denver Post. Prior to that, he was executive editor of the Colorado Sports Network and The Fan Varsity Sports Network. He is a 2012 graduate of the ASU Cronkite School of Journalism.

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